Andrea Radrizzani Preparing Leeds United for Next Season Amid Speculation of Qatari Investment

Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has begun to plan for next season despite reports of Qatari investment into the club surfacing recently. 

Leeds narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League, losing to Derby County in the Championship promotion semi-finals after earning the highest number of points in the league since being relegated in 2004. Radrizzani bought into the club back in 2017 before becoming the majority owner just five months later. 

The Italian owner has reportedly begun planning for next season amid reports of investment from Qatar Sports Investments. According to the Financial Times (via Sky Sports), QSI has entered talks to purchase a stake in Leeds United, their first venture into English football.

Qatar Sports Investments are led by Nasser Al-Khelaifi and are the current owners of French giants Paris Saint-Germain. QSI are largely responsible for PSG's rise as a European superpower over the last decade, pumping more than a billion pounds into the project since taking over in 2011.

Radrizzani revealed that his plans for next season in the Championship are already underway with the club set to make a decision on manager Marcelo Bielsa's future in the coming days. The club have the option to extend Bielsa's contract but the opportunity expires at the end of the week. 

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Earlier in the week, the owner stated: "I can say we have a chance to keep him. We'll see. The next few days will be decisive and we will make an announcement. We'll see in the next few days. We have an option until the end of the month. We are talking to him and we have few things to clarify but after that we will make our decision public soon."

Leeds are set to begin pre-season play in the middle of July when they take on Manchester United at the Optus Stadium in Australia before challenging A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers just a few days later.